"Go
to her." Luke said again. Lorelai swiftly left the room and
questioned nothing about it.

"I
don't blame you for sending her away." Matthew said lightly. "I'd
be embarrassed too."

Matthew
grabbed a knife from his pocket. Luke stood still, not flinching.

"Do
you need that?" Luke asked. "Something to hide behind?"

"I'm
not hiding behind a knife." Matthew spat. "I'm going to use it
as a weapon."

"You're
using it as a shield." Luke replied.

Matthew
breathed deeply. "Alright... Mr. Tough Guy. We'll do it your
way." Matthew threw the knife to the other side of the room. He
lunged towards Luke, but Luke quickly stepped out of the way and came
back with a powerful uppercut.

"I
like things my way." Luke responded after knocking Matthew on his
back.

Matt
quickly jumped to his feat and took yet another swing at Luke. A
miss. Another swing and miss. Another and another. Luke punched
Matthew several times in the face and then one powerful time in the
stomach leaving him hunched over and bloody. Luke chuckled. "You
want the knife back?" he asked.

Anger
filled Matthew. He hated being teased. "You know, I think I
actually have something a little better." Matthew reached into his
coat and pulled out a hand gun.

Luke
still didn't show any sign of fear. Matthew aimed it directly at
Luke's heart. "Want know how it feels to be shot through the
heart?" Matthew asked.

"FREEZE!..
NYPD!" An officer shouted.

Matthew
quickly turned his head to see who was yelling from behind him, when
he did so Luke grabbed the gun and wrestled Matthew to the ground. A
shot was fired into the air but hit nothing but the ceiling tile
above them. The police swarmed the two men and quickly drug Matthew
away.

Cook
walked over to Luke who was relieved, but holding back all his
emotions for the time being. "Good work Danes. Ever thought about a
job in the police force?"

"No
thank you." Luke replied lightly. "I'll stick to my diner."

"Looks
like you helped a little more than expected huh?"

"Guess
so." Luke handed the gun to Cook and started to walk of but noticed
Joe standing beside one of the cops. Instead he changed his
destination. "Joe?" He asked surprisingly as he walked towards
him. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey,
Luke." Joe replied calmly. "Well, this is my job."

"You're
a cop?" Luke asked amazed.

"Sure
am." Joe smiled.

"You
never told me that."

"You
never asked." Joe replied.

"Good
point." Luke retorted.

"I'll
see you back home." Joe said cheerfully. "I won't be much
longer here."

"Oh,
I'll be staying here with Lorelai and Rory tonight."

"Oh?
How are they?"

"They're
good." Luke nodded.

"Good.
Tomorrow then." Joe ended.

"Tomorrow."
Luke repeated.

Luke
turned and headed back in the direction of Rory's room.

(Outside
the hospital)

"Joe,
you back stabbing, two faced...!" Matthew roared from inside the
cop car.

"Sorry,
little brother." Joe replied as he walked on by the car and down
the street.

(Rory's
room)

"Luke..."
Lorelai ran towards him when he entered the door. He hugged her and
kissed her softly. "Please tell me this is all over." she said
with her head buried in his chest.

"It's
all over." Luke told her.

"Did
he hurt you?" she asked standing back to examine him.

"Not
at all." Luke smiled. "Like I said, just a bully." Luke looked
over at Rory who was fast asleep in her bed. "You didn't wake
her?" he asked.

"No."
Lorelai replied. "For once, she was finally resting... really
resting. I didn't want to ruin it for her." Lorelai said gazing
at her pale face.

Luke
walked over and pulled the covers up over Rory. "She's an
incredibly strong kid."

(Christmas
the following year at the Gilmore house)

"God...
I love snow." Lorelai said to herself as she stood on her porch.
Luke came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waste.
"God... I love you." She smirked.

"Come
on, we're getting ready to open gifts." Luke smiled as he held
out his hand.

"Just
a minute." she said as she continued to gaze at the snow. "This
moment is perfect."

"Tell
me." Rory pleaded. "I can still acted surprised when I open it."
She giggled.

"That
doesn't work that way." Tristan laughed.

"Who's
going to know any better?" Rory asked.

"I
will." Tristan replied. "But I'll tell you what, I will give
you one gift early."